The Discourse of a Christian Writer

Book Review: Half Blood (Ilyon Chronicles: Prequel Novella)

Let me just blurt out: oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness!!! There isn’t enough I could say to tell you how much I loved this book. And hated it. But let’s get on to what it is about.

This is a prequel book to the first book in the the Ilyon Chronicles: Resistance. It is a backstory of the life of Jace, one of the two main characters. Starting when he is six years old, Jace is a slave. He’s also half ryrik. That, supposedly, makes him dangerous. He has no memory of his parents. Sold from one slave owner to another all who look at him have hatred and fear in their eyes. They call him an animal, a monster who has no soul. He lives through it all, but then he loses control and something terrible happens. Forced to be a gladiator, he lives to kill. Jace fears that he is becoming the monster that everyone thinks he is. Or that maybe, he already is.

It’s been awhile since I have read one of Jaye L. Knight’s books fresh for the first time. I was really excited to get my hands on this and read it (long before it came out). Jace is my favorite character in the Ilyon Chronicles, so what could go wrong with a book just about him? It was small, but that didn’t make it any less amazing.

This book tore my heart into a million pieces. I hardly ever cry in book. I mean, that never happens. Throughout this whole book my eyes got watery one time. If I really think about what happened in the book, I do think I will cry. But over all the excitement and thrill of the experience, I did deeply feel this book. You know what I mean? There was an unknown depth to the book that touched my heart.

Now, you’re probably still wondering why earlier I said I hated it. Well, I didn’t hate the book. But I did hate what happened to Jace. It was terrible. Though it totally fitted the character and I wouldn’t change any of it, it was still just horrible. Poor Jace. I feel so bad for him.

So I loved loved loved this book, while at the same time hating what happened in it for the most part. But the darkness and bitterness of how the story was, for most of the book, made the light at the end so much brighter. Through all that darkness and despair, there was hope in the end that things would turn out better. So it doesn’t leave you feeling depressed, but happy and sad at the same time.

This was a beautiful tale that was perfect for a day’s reading. So don’t miss it. No matter how heartbreaking it is, you’ll still be glad you read it.

I wouldn’t recommend this to people until they had at least read Resistance. But this is for any lover of fantasy and Christian fiction. Or anyone who likes to read. It is so so good.